Chinese Empire
The Chinese Empire, also known as Imperial China or officially '' Chunghwa (中華, direct translation of Chinese name), is a sovereign state in East Asia. It is the most populous country in the world and it is the only remaining empire today. The country consists of 18 provinces within the Chinese Plain (中原, ''Chunghwa), collectively called China, along with seven protectorates: Tibet (西藏), Amdo (青海), Mongolia (蒙古), the three Manchu protectorates and Korea (朝鮮). Its capital is Pekin (北京), surrounded by the province of Kyaengi (京畿). The reigning Emperor, the Tseng Tsoh Emperor, is the head of state. History Under the Ching regime, China had been subject to unequal treaties with the European powers and beset by famine. The Manchu rulers were therefore very much hated by the people as they were seen as "barbarians" who not only oppressed the Hwa Chinese and destroyed Hwa culture through their cultural oppression policies, but had lost China's ancient prestige. The people therefore felt that the Ching dynasty had lost the Mandate of Heaven, the divine approval of the gods of the contemporary regime. The Hsin-Hai Revolution in 1911 overthrew the Ching Emperor and China became a temporary republic from 1912 to 1915. By petition of the National Assembly (國民大會), Yuen Shih Kai (袁世凱) declared himself Emperor on 11 Dec 1915. Before he could set the foundations of the nation, he faced mutinies from the warlords all across China. Name Official name In accordance with tradition, the official name of the country is never "China", but the 國號 kwohao or "dynastic title" and changes with every ruling house. In the Ching Era under the House of Aisin Gioro, the official name of the country was 大清帝國 Ta Ching Tikwo, or "Great Ching Empire". When the current House of Yuen became the imperial house, the official name was set to 大中華 Ta Chunghwa or "Great Chunghwa". The name Chunghwa means "central (and) grand", an ancient Chinese endonym. Politics The Chinese Empire is a unitary state under a parliamentary monarchy. The Tsing Tso Emperor (靖祚皇帝) is the monarch and head of state of China. The Chinese Basic Law (華元律) is the legal framework of the country. Emperor The Emperor is the head of state of Imperial China. Despite being a constitutional monarchy, his role is closer to that of the United States President rather than a modern-day monarch, wielding executive power. He is still less powerful than the pre-1911 emperors, who are unlimited in their power and able to execute people immediately. He is not limited in power within the constitution, however. Government The Chinese government is unique and hard to define. The Emperor is a de jure absolute monarch, but he is similar in power to a United States President. His powers are extremely limited in comparison to that of previous dynasties. He rules through the assistance of Parliament (國會), divided into the House of Commons (眾議院) and the House of Lords (卿議院) and dominated by the Nationalist Party (KMT; 國民黨, Kwok Min Tang). The Chinese government is an absolute monarchy which behaves like a republic. Almost all bodies of the central government are housed in the Tsieh Kim Jeng (紫禁城; lit. Purple Forbidden City) in Pekin, the official residence of the Emperor. The Emperor is the head of the Executive, Judicial and Legislative branches of government, and governs through the use of imperial edicts (聖旨), which are to be complied with immediately on pain of death. As the head of the Executive, he oversees Cabinet and all government agencies and may issue edicts as executive orders. As the head of the Legislative, he signs Congress bills into law and holds veto power, although rarely used. As head of the Judiciary, he is the fount of justice in the Chinese realm and courts dispense justice in his name. Additionally, every Chinese subject has the right to seek audience of the Emperor for a final appeal, although he delegates this to the Court of Kinchow (京兆府), which serves as the Chinese Supreme Court. Executive The Executive of the Chinese government is made up by the various government agencies of the Cabinet. These correspond to the pre-modern Chinese official class (卿; 官宦).These are directly appointed by the Emperor, and unlike the Legislative or Judiciary, have to pass the Civil Service Examinations. The Home Secretariat (朝廷中書省) manages the internal affairs of China (the 18 provinces). Province in Chinese translates to 省 shaeng, which is an abbreviation of 行中書省 Haeng Cheung Shu Shaeng (lit. mobile Home Secretariat)，illustrating their status as delegations of the Home Office. The Protectorate Affairs Office (宣政衙門) manages the protectorates Provincial government Protectorate Language The official language in China is Standard Chinese (國語, Kwokngu) Administrative divisions The Chunghwa dynasty largely kept the boundaries of the Ching administrative regions with some changes. The Hwa-dominated provinces within the Chinese Plain are sovereign territories and are under direct rule by the Home Secretariat (朝廷中書省). The territories without are protectorates with varying degrees of self-government but with external affairs and defence under the responsibility of the central government. These are under the Protectorate Affairs Office (宣政衙門). The administrative divisions are as such: * Provinces (省, shng), Municipalities (市, shih), the Capital (京師, king-shih) * Prefectures (府, fu) * Districts (州, choh) * Counties (縣, hsien) {| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" ! colspan="8" style="background: #ffff99;" | Provinces of the Qing dynasty (1911) |-bgcolor=cccccc !Name !! Abbreviation !! Capital |- | colspan="8" align="center" style="background: #ffff99;" |'Chinese Plain 中原' |- |Anhwei 安徽||皖 Wan||Ankyaeng 安慶 |- |Chietkyung 浙江||浙 Chiet||Hangchu 杭州 |- |Kyaengkei 京畿||畿 Kei||Powting 保定 |- |Fukien 福建||閩 Min||Fukchoh 福州 |- |Honan 河南||豫 Yu||Khaifung 開封 |- |Hupeh 湖北||鄂 E''||Mvuchhang 武昌 |- |Hunan 湖南||湘 ''Hsiang||Changsha 長沙 |- |Kansu 甘肅||隴 Lung||Lanchoh 蘭州 |- |Kiangsu 江蘇||蘇 So||Kyungning 江寧 |- |Kyunghsi 江西||贛 Kang||Nanchang 南昌 |- |Kwangtung 廣東||粵 Yuet||Canton City 廣州 |- |Kwangsi 廣西||桂 Kwei||Kweilin 桂林 |- |Kweichoh 貴州||黔 Kien||Kweiyang 貴陽 |- |Shanhsi 山西||晉 Tsin||Thaingyuan 太原 |- |Shantung 山東||魯 Lu||Tseineom 濟南 |- |Shenhsi 陝西||秦 Tsin||Seian 西安 |- |Szechwan 四川||蜀 Shu||Jengtoh 成都 |- |Yunnan 雲南||滇 Tien||Kunming 昆明 |-